Brough (), sometimes known as Brough under Stainmore, is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the Eden district of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, on the western fringe of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

near

Stainmore Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South ...

. The village is on the A66 trans-Pennine road, and the Swindale Beck, and is about south east of

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. I ...

. Brough is situated north east of

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. ...

and north east of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

on the A685. Brough lies within the historic county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. At the 2001 census it had a population of 680, increasing to 751 at the 2011 Census.

History

The village is on the site of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

fort of

Verterae Verterae was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Brough, Cumbria, England. Occupied between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, it protected a key Roman road in the north of England. In the 11th century, Brough Castle was built on part of the si ...

("The Forts"), on the northern leg of the Roman-era

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

, linking

Luguvalium Luguvalium was a Roman town in northern Britain in antiquity. It was located within present-day Carlisle, Cumbria, and may have been the capital of the 4th-century province of Valentia. Name The Romans called the settlement at what is today Ca ...

(

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

) with

Eboracum Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimate ...

(

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

) and points south. The area of the rectangular fort, which once occupied the land to the south of the

Swindale Beck Swindale Beck is a stream in Cumbria, England. It is formed at Swindale Head where Mosedale Beck, from the slopes of Tarn Crag, joins Hobgrumble Beck from Selside Pike. The stream flows north-east along Swindale and joins the River Lowther ne ...

, is now a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Brough Castle Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of ''Verterae'' to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial motte ...

was built in the 11th century within the northern part of the former fort. Like many other castles in the area, Brough was restored in the 17th century by

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...

. The Castle is now in the care of English Heritage and its ruins can be visited. Brough has historically been divided into Market Brough, to the north, and Church Brough, to the south and centred on the castle and St Michael's Church. In 1977 this division was made physical by the construction of the Brough bypass dual carriageway, taking the A66 away from the village main street. Up to some time before 1777, opposite the market cross going up towards Stainmore, there was a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

dedicated to

Saint Winifred Saint Winifred (or Winefride; cy, Gwenffrewi; la, Wenefreda, Winifreda) was a Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was fi ...

(Gwenfrewi), which before the Reformation was a place of pilgrimage. Nearby is

Augill Castle Stainmore, for administrative purposes, is a civil parish in the Eden District, Cumbria, England. The parish contains ten listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. All the listed buildings are designated at G ...

, built in 1841 by John Bagot Pearson from

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

as a weekend retreat, a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and now a hotel.

Governance

Brough is in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Penrith and the Border Penrith and The Border is a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Neil Hudson, a Conservative. History Penrith and The Border was first contested in 1950 since which it has to date been g ...

. Neil Hudson was elected its Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

at the 2019 General Election, replacing

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for G ...

The holly tree tradition

Traditionally, on

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

, a burning

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

tree (subsequently,

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergree ...

s were used) would be carried through the village, followed by a brass band. When the flames had partially gone out, the villagers would try to bring the tree to a pub, where the party would continue until the early hours of the morning. The village was also the venue for a popular fair on the second Thursday of March.

St Michael's church

St Michael's Church is a large building with an impressive tower. The oldest parts date from the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

period, and may have suffered during

William I of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

's attack on the castle in 1174. The church was enlarged in the 14th century, to add the north aisle, and in the early 16th century when most of the existing structure was built. The tower was constructed by Thomas Blenkinsop of Helbeck in 1513. There is a large war memorial within the nave. There are four bells. Repairs and improvements continue to this day.

Events

Brough Agricultural Show, held every year in August. Cumbria Easter Rally, held yearly on Easter weekend. A monthly Farmers' Market held on the third Saturday of every month, in the Memorial Hall in Brough.

Brough Football Club

Brough Football Club is the local football team for the village. After being re-founded in 2020, Brough FC can be dated back to 1900, possibly even earlier. The club's home pitch is Coltsford Common in Church Brough. Brough FC has a men's team in the Westmorland Football League, and an Under 16's team in the Kent Valley Football League. The team plays in the club's traditional colours of blue and white stripes, with a red away kit, both sponsored by

Kendal Calling Kendal Calling is a music & arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 25,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kendal C ...

Gallery

File:Brough, Cumbria, The Coronation clock tower - geograph.org.uk - 247717.jpg, The Coronation clock tower File:Brough under stainmore st michael.jpg, St Michael's Church. File:St Michael's Church interior Brough cumbria..jpg, Interior of St Michael's church File:Church Brough - geograph.org.uk - 17752.jpg, Church Brough - The Green File:Augill Castle, Brough, Cumbria (geograph 1649274).jpg, Augill Castle File:Hollytree brough.JPG, Parading the holly tree File:Brough Castle - geograph.org.uk - 3131306.jpg, View of the castle from Coltsford Common

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the name of Brough exists. This ward stretches from Musgrave to

with a total population of 1,317.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Brough under Stainmore
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Roman sites in Cumbria Eden District

History

Governance

The holly tree tradition

St Michael's church

Events

Brough Football Club

Gallery

Governance

See also

References

External links